One branch of the Training Dungeon Quest! Please read the main thread before choosing a section to explore.

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The Gembounds entering the "training" dungeon would need to split to enter one of its four branches. The tunnel beyond the initial, rusted steel gate was worn stone. In places this would change to brick, or even water, but here--on the leftmost branch of the dungeon--it began to slope downward into a thick, smoky heat.

On the plus side, it was glowing up ahead. On the downside, the glow was... well, the floor was lava.

The first challenge, once the group gathered itself up and headed deeper into the Volcanic Vents section, was a narrow, worn bridge of natural stone weaving its way through a lava-filled room. The heat was intense, the smoke thick, but it was passable. The bridge was broad enough for a Valkhound, if a little cramped. The fall into lava below would've been... well, best not to fall.

The question was--was it safe?

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Gembounds proceeding into the Volcanic Vents branch of the dungeon should roll for any form of perception. This may be an Other roll or magic perception of any kind. They may instead roll to prepare for specific threats if they may guess what they'll encounter. Posts will occur every four days; the next post will be on Saturday, June 7th, afternoon/evening GMT.


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The caves might be numerous and their biomes varied, but it'd be a severe mistake to assume word didn't carry fast as a result. Fahl, more interested in granting himself some well-deserved leisure time after a vigorous round of magical practice, certainly hadn't any reason to wander close to the newly reopened Scorpio. His eye had been on a relaxing stay in Fornax, lounging about on a rock within its steaming ocean, and yet he'd still managed to learn of the dungeon residing in Lacerta, the deadly neighbor to his chosen vacation destination. The information had reached him rather late; in fact, he'd already been in the midst of resting when the news hit him in the form of multiple energetic and disruptive Gembounds flocking to the site.

After a period of grumbling and swearing, eventually his competitive urge and the pull toward further improvement ended up winning out over basking in comfort. Checking out whether this training location actually was up to snuff surely couldn't be an entire waste of his time if it helped bring his somewhat weakened magic back up to par. One of the dungeon's branches radiating intense heat sealed the deal; if he couldn't enjoy his previously planned nap, at least he could welcome the challenge of enduring his scales being scalded.

Not one to entertain such stupidity as barging headfirst into choking smoke and glowing devastation without some support, the iguana paced within the entrance to the vents. Every so often he paused his impatient treading to dart a wary glance down the tunnel.

"Fucking thing's starting to make me miss Cetus," he groused. If it felt this scorching up here, how much worse would it become once he ventured farther inside? Anybody might yearn for the dark and damp after being subjected to that. Hopefully it wouldn't also become the case for him.

The temperature pressed down on Thalassa, her scales bristling outward in order to minimise the amount of trapped heat. It only helped her some - this wasn't a locale she was familiar with, or a climate. Perhaps that was the point. This had been the path she'd picked for herself, after all.

She stalked toward the bridge, noting Fahl but not addressing him directly - she gave him a glance, and nothing more.

Her chosen strategy wouldn't matter much, considering her lack of skill - she could attempt to navigate via her limited sight, or call on her more innate magic. She chose the latter - less effort, less risk. There'd be bacteria lining the bridge, right?

ENTER THE BAUXITE.

We are not sure if he'd gotten permission for this outing, but he'd follow the current toward Fornax all the same, tailing the group like some awful spirit. Crowds felt good. Crowds felt nice. Especially when he was part of them.

But the crowd thinned eventually, and he found himself amidst an odd, spiky creature he could not eat, and a small, spiky creature he could definitely. But he was finding that a lot of people objected to being consumed, even though it was in their best interests to join him.

He was beginning to learn patience. Good for him.

He was smart. He could navigate this path all on his own. They'd just have to watch him.

He had gotten wind of the quest, figuring that he could find a few things and add to his hoard. There were a few already there, most of which he just offered a bit of a silent nod to, until he caught sight of one he knew, a bit of a smirk crossing his features when he saw Thalassa. Could not deny urge to explore more, huh? He teased gently as he came up to their side, flicking his tail gently behind himself.

He turned his gaze off into the distance, ears and eyes working hard to search, clearly alert and analyzing. He was tense, though his face and tail remained neutral.

So this is it.

Tourmaline had, honestly, chosen this cave because she believed her magic would be most helpful surrounded by bare earth and not jungle overgrowth. She was quickly starting to regret that decision, as the more she stands in the entrance the more she realizes just how hot it was.

"Guess we'll all be. Huff... Working together?" she pants, looking over the others gathered. Fahl, she recognizes, having seen him several times before. The others though, are strangers.

Then a vision is forced into her head, of them all, burned to unrecognizable husks, surrounded by pools of lava dyed green and purple. It's not real, Tourmaline tries to steel herself against it. The corruption continues to mock her, taunting and teasing. She cannot let it win.

If she focuses on what she needs to do, maybe she can block it out. Her magic is right there, and she channels it. It follows her beck and call easily, and she pours it into her eyes, her ears, her paws. If there is something to notice, she will find it.

With the wind as you fly away
Give a smile from your lips and say
"I am free! Yes, I'm free!"

A quest through dangerous ruins sounded like perfect mental activity for the restless deer, and just the excitement he needed for a time when really nothing of interest was happening - so, to the dungeon he went, immediately attracted to the one that was a little bit warmer then the others.

He trotted in with the others, head high and swinging to observe all the creatures that had gathered to join him in this journey, nodding approvingly at each in turn. Hybrids and strange creatures and normal creatures...a good mix. They all looked strong. "Alright, who's ready to find some treasure!!" Because he certainly was! He had donned his enchanted chains today, and they lightly clinked and gleamed in the faint glow of the lava.

Upon reaching the lava-room, and seeing the rather precarious path across it, September paused. Quick problem-solving in his head and he had his answer! Prancing ahead of the others that were investigating, perceiving, and otherwise preparing, he instead began to call some of his winds to his side, stepping right onto the path. The intent was to keep him steady - if at any point he started to lilt or fall, the wind would lightly push him back and right him.

september

There were tons of people going this way. This way was hot, dry, and she felt on edge, but there were people. And with that, she could easily follow them and mooch, holding herself behind the pack while keeping her tail close. It'd be good to not get that burnt..!

Keeping her head low to not breathe in all the smoke, Surgis stalked forward to the bridge, tentatively testing it with a hand. There was a certain thrum of wariness from everyone; except the deer-thing, which got a smile from Surgis. "Hah." There was a wind following him, and Surgis did her best to slip right behind, tailgating him to keep herself steady as well.

Maybe she could tell him she was doing that, but... nah. Best to just keep at his heels and kick herself into gear behind him.

For a countless number of cycles, Hargrave's existence has been quiet and full of dreaming; her form harbored safely within a chrysalis, reduced to little more than a silent heartbeat locked away behind petals of aventurine, with a sword lying in dutiful wait at its side.

If there ever were a time that Hargrave would praise the damn thing for being so cold, it was now.

Only a few times before had she suffered a heat so sweltering that she felt her hide might peel away from her boiling flesh. It was that Raheerah's vainglorious fury— snuffed-out so soon— then it was her own hand, when the fire in her belly had overtaken that of her mind, too. Yet, such agonies and the frostbitten blade chattering between her teeth made this tolerable. Being among like-mindedly mindless explorers, too.

Hargrave finds herself ghosting among the crowd, uninterested in the likenesses of the others while the trial presently is to merely... cross a bridge. Any one of them could send another careening over the edge for their own self-interest; and that one would be idiotic to sabotage so soon, while their own death would be one shove away.

She presses toward the bridge along with the others, eyes solely fixed onto the path ahead; ears listening behind her; and paws careful at every step, gauging the tenderness of the ground beneath. There is no need to rush as the deer-thing and serpent ahead are.

The agate had followed its sister V-Chaos-Eleven here, after learning of the potential rewards- both physical loot and potential respect from its fellows in the forge. However, the agate had found itself drawn to the smokey, hellish tunnel. Maybe it was its natural yet currently undiscovered affinity for fire. Maybe it just seemed like the coolest, most impressive tunnel, full of the coolest, more impressive competitors companions. Maybe all of the above.

It stuck to the back of the crowd, so it would have time and space to react should some currently-unseen threat come rushing out of the smokey haze. All six of its eyes were trained ahead as it carefully made its way across the bridge, overly aware of how narrow the path was compared to it, and how far the drop was into the scorching lava below.